Macbook Air or the iPad 2.

[bcaslis]

...
Please excuse my rant. Sometimes it's hard to tolerate ridiculousness. Now go buy your toy but be sure to get an MBA too so you can get some work done.

It's not for you. Great. Try to read an ebook while sitting in a moving car on a laptop. Lots of fun, isn't it?

Geez, of course an iPad isn't for programming an SQL Server. It's primarily for consumer tasks, though you can do some remote access tasks reasonably well on this. This is like saying a Mac is useless because it's not a visual basic and .NET development platform.

 

[thelookingglass]

Had an iPad 1, which I gave to my significant other when I got my MBA. Realized I missed my iPad for most of what I use a computer for - communications, writing, researching on the web. The iPad also does double duty as a nice e-reader and a media player, and works much better in this respect than the MBA. So when the iPad 2 came out, I got one. Now my MBA never gets used except when I'm out on the road. But make no mistake about it, I DO definitely need it when I'm traveling. There are still some annoying software limitations with the iPad such that I don't feel completely confident just leaving my MBA at home. Remote access to my iMac is a nice solution in a pinch but doesn't beat having a full fledged computer with me.

 

[duggram]

It's not for you. Great. Try to read an ebook while sitting in a moving car on a laptop. Lots of fun, isn't it?

I am hardly ever a passenger for more than a few minutes. Wouldn't have a need to read in a car.

This is like saying a Mac is useless because it's not a visual basic and .NET development platform.

I don't understand this comment which I would never make. One of the things I tell non-Mac users the most is that my MBA runs Win7 better than any Windows laptop I've ever seen. So I don't get your point.

If the iPad is for you then get one and enjoy. But please don't try to say that the iPad is better than an MBA. I almost forgot that I will have my chance to use an iPad this weekend. My wife will be getting one on Saturday. I look forward to using it and I'm sure I will enjoy it. But it will never take the place of my MBA.

 

[mayhone1]

An iPad(2) is not a laptop replacement.

I got the iPad thinking that it could be used as a laptop, but it just doesn't work for much of the things college needs, trust me my friend get a laptop! Get the Macbook Air!!!

 

[bcaslis]

...
But please don't try to say that the iPad is better than an MBA. I almost forgot that I will have my chance to use an iPad this weekend. My wife will be getting one on Saturday. I look forward to using it and I'm sure I will enjoy it. But it will never take the place of my MBA.

You don't seem capable of understanding what some people are saying. Nobody here has ever said the iPad is better than the MBA for all things. What has been said is that for some tasks, the iPad is better than the MBA. What is so hard to understand? You can't possibly believe that reading a book is better on the MBA than the iPad. Maybe book reading isn't important to you, but that doesn't mean the iPad isn't better for that task. On the other hand software development is way better on the MBA than the iPad. The right tool for the right task.

 

[torbjoern]

The iPad 2 is, in many user scenarios, superior to the MBA for browsing and media consumption because of the multitouch interface.The iPad is a companion device, to use it properly you need a proper computer as well,and it sounds like you don't have one.The MacBook air is a pretty laptop, but a little under powered.

You may be right about browsing and media consumption. It has to be superior on this, or it wouldn't sell. For productive work, the iPad is crippled.

 

[tallyho]

For productive work, the iPad is crippled.

And still the silly debate goes on! Clearly, this entirely depends on what field of "productive work" you're talking about. For me, a notebook with a keyboard is clearly more suitable. But David Hockney has created entire exhibitions with his iPad and the Brushes app. Productive? Those shows will have generated far more revenue than what I do for a living. Yes he *could* have used a Wacom graphics tablet and a notebook, but for him the multitouch iPad is absolutely more productive.

Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorrilaz) produced an album using iPad music creation apps. Clearly his efforts will have been tidied up on studio based computers, but the original hands-on creativity was facilitated by the multitouch iPad (anyone who has used GarageBand for iPad will know that it allows control over software instruments that is simply not possible with conventional midi-keyboards and a computer). Again, his efforts generate massively more revenue than mine (and probably most other contributors to this thread).

These are not straw-man arguments. Some of you really need to qualify your statements by defining "productive work" as more or less traditional office-based activity (not necessarily *in* an office, clearly, but you know what I mean).

 

[torbjoern]

And still the silly debate goes on! Clearly, this entirely depends on what field of "productive work" you're talking about. For me, a notebook with a keyboard is clearly more suitable. But David Hockney has created entire exhibitions with his iPad and the Brushes app. Productive? Those shows will have generated far more revenue than what I do for a living. Yes he *could* have used a Wacom graphics tablet and a notebook, but for him the multitouch iPad is absolutely more productive.

Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorrilaz) produced an album using iPad music creation apps. Clearly his efforts will have been tidied up on studio based computers, but the original hands-on creativity was facilitated by the multitouch iPad (anyone who has used GarageBand for iPad will know that it allows control over software instruments that is simply not possible with conventional midi-keyboards and a computer). Again, his efforts generate massively more revenue than mine (and probably most other contributors to this thread).

These are not straw-man arguments. Some of you really need to qualify your statements by defining "productive work" as more or less traditional office-based activity (not necessarily *in* an office, clearly, but you know what I mean).

Yeah. There are even blind people who can paint and deaf people who can compose music - and far better than I could ever dream of myself. I'm sure it's possible to write advanced computer software on the iPad as well, but that doesn't mean that the iPad is suitable for such work.

 

[Janet1]

can you do this for $15 a month with no contract, month to month? I am not being sarcastic, I am really asking and don't know...

Yes, I bought both the iPad 1 with 3G when it first came out, and now I have an iPad 2, also with 3G. My iPad 1 was AT&T, and now I have the Verizon model (which wasn't intentional, I bought it off craigslist and it just happened to be Verizon instead of AT&T.)

If you get the AT&T model iPad, the mobile data plan starts at $15 a month, and there is no contract. The mobile data plan for Verizon however starts at $20 a month, but you do get 4 times the data for $5 more. It's all month-to-month, and very easy to sign up for one month when you need 3G, and cancel the next, without any problems whatsoever.

I did have a first gen Mac Air, but gave it to my husband's neice to take to college with her. It just didn't suit my needs. I work with a lot of spreadsheets and really needed a laptop with a built-in numeric keyboard, and it's a lot easier to work with spreadsheets on a 17" screen. For work, I also use an HP, Apple doesn't do business well. And no, I am not about to install "boot camp" and for anyone who really works with numbers, USB keypads suck, big time.

The iPad fits most my other needs, especially nice for reading ebooks, and even better for traveling, enabling me to book hotel and other reservations "on the fly" and I really don't want to be forced to read or attempt to respond to an email on a cell phone, ever again. I use the ipad for texting as well, and casual gaming while having to sit waiting at the airport really makes the time fly.

The girl I gave my Mac Air wouldn't be able to use an iPad instead at her college. They don't make apps for the type of programs she uses in school. For her needs though, the Mac Air is wonderful.

It really depends though on your major and what programs you use for your schoolwork, if any. If you would just need it to type papers and study, yeah, you probably could use an iPad, but the on-screen keyboard isn't designed to enable typing speed. I've tested my typing speed, and I type over 100 words per minute normally, but haven't been able to score higher than 30 words per minute on my iPad, which to me, is tediously slow. Of course, they make keyboards for the iPad, but before I'd go that route, I personally would just stick with a laptop.

 

[Janet1]

what's funny here is if you put this question on the macrunor iPad forum, you will get really different answers - we like what we buy!

The ipad is certainly not a toy - as ask anyone who does computing standing up - like a doctor, job estimator or engineer - it's just a diff application and why Apple sells both without cannibalizing the other...

I have to respond to this because I do really love my iPad, but no, I absolutely, positively could not do my work on it. There is no way. I have huge analysis programs that I have to hook up to gigantic mainframes, some of which take up entire floors, and let them crunch away, sometimes for days on end. No, they don't make an app for that.

As far as doctors go? My sister's a doctor and doesn't even possess an email account, and wouldn't know how to use it if she did. She is completely and totally computer illiterate. She has administrative assistants and techs. who perform those functions.

I'm very technically adapt, and know how to do a lot more than just jailbreak my iPad, which I only did to expand the capabilities. I even like writing programs for my psp (after installing custom firmware, of course) and I know the limitations of an iPad, very well. I do have some business uses for it, including using it for training purposes, but it's not an adequate computer replacement. Maybe someday, but today is not that day.

 

[Big D 51]

Air

 

[Blues003]

I might have expresse dmyself wrong, but no, I did not mean I'd fully replace my laptop for an iPad. Indeed, the iPad would act as a replacement only when outside my home.

My laptop is currently too heavy for me to carry. I cannot carry 3 Kg of laptop + all the books/powerpoint presentations/notes/doctor material I need to carry as a med-student.

As such, when I ask MBA or iPad, I am basically asking if you think it's worth it to postpone the MBA for around 1 year and get an iPad for eBook reading/note taking/medical app checking/presentation sketching while on the faculty, or if I should try to get a full-fledged laptop ASAP.

 

[duggram]

... You can't possibly believe that reading a book is better on the MBA than the iPad. ...

Actually I think you are a little confused here. You've got your facts backwards. Also I read a lot every day. The MBA is better for this. Why would a person carry an iPad and a laptop? Is there something magical about the screen on an iPad that makes it better for reading books? Have you ever used the Kindle app on an MBA?

The one intriguing feature of the iPad I like is being able to send text msgs like Janet1 mentioned above. That would be handy on my MBA as apposed to the phone.

 

[duggram]

.... or if I should try to get a full-fledged laptop ASAP.

Why not the 11" Air? It's only 0.4 of a pound heavier than an iPad. Could you handle 0.4 of pound more for vastly more capability? If you don't really need the capability then get the iPad cuz it will make you look really cool.

 

[Blues003]

Why not the 11" Air? It's only 0.4 of a pound heavier than an iPad. Could you handle 0.4 of pound more for vastly more capability? If you don't really need the capability then get the iPad cuz it will make you look really cool.

If I am going to spend 1000€ or so, I might as well get something that I KNOW will satisfy me. The 11'' wouldn't. The 13'' would already be borderline capable for all the music creation and photo/video editing I intend to do.

 

[kazmac]

Sounds like an Air might be better

The 13" Air might be the portable for the OP.

I've tried both Airs (loved the 13") but ultimately went with an iPad 2. Cost and physical issues were the reasons, but as I'm using the iPad for content creation (writing stories in notes which I either drop into pages or email myself) and fun I haven't turned on my iMac since last week. That's a big deal for me.

But I completely agree with the iPad owner who said they typed much slower on the virtual keyboard (I've gone to down about 20 words a minute > two fingers).

If I were in the OPs shoes, I'd definitely get an Air.

I really like my iPad and am beginning to believe less is more. Why I'm selling my iMac to a relative; but until an iPad doesn't need to sync, the file sharing is addressed and you can attach a USB or eventually (Thunderbolt) flash drive to the iPad I can't see it being a primary piece of hardware.

You won't regret the 13" Air. That is an amazing machine and the weight is almost indistinguishable from the 11".

 

[glen e]

Like I said above, I find it amazing the conversation has degraded to an "either or" - it's not that kind of situation. They both accommodate diff needs.....

but to post that people buy ipads just "to be seen" is ridiculous and way off base...and usually always comes from a person who has never owned or used one.

 

[bcaslis]

Actually I think you are a little confused here. You've got your facts backwards. Also I read a lot every day. The MBA is better for this. Why would a person carry an iPad and a laptop? Is there something magical about the screen on an iPad that makes it better for reading books? Have you ever used the Kindle app on an MBA?
...

I think you are confused. I have both. The iPad is simply better for reading anything in a book like format. And yes, the iPad screen is significantly better than the MBA. It's an IPS display so you can read a much greater angle without light drop off or color shift compared to the MBA. I can set the iPad on a flat surface and read it at almost any angle. I've used the Kindle app on the MBA. The experience on an iPad is far better and the iBooks apps is even better than the Kindle.

You really should stop giving advice on things you have no experience on.

 

[bcaslis]

I might have expresse dmyself wrong, but no, I did not mean I'd fully replace my laptop for an iPad. Indeed, the iPad would act as a replacement only when outside my home.

My laptop is currently too heavy for me to carry. I cannot carry 3 Kg of laptop + all the books/powerpoint presentations/notes/doctor material I need to carry as a med-student.

As such, when I ask MBA or iPad, I am basically asking if you think it's worth it to postpone the MBA for around 1 year and get an iPad for eBook reading/note taking/medical app checking/presentation sketching while on the faculty, or if I should try to get a full-fledged laptop ASAP.

I have to say most of the people responding in this thread have no idea what they are talking about with regards to the iPad. The MBA is a great computer and far better than the iPad for "computer tasks". But for reading or medical apps I think the iPad is way better. Assuming your note taking is limited, the iPad is good enough. For presentations, Keynote is great but not as good as on the Mac.

Are you going to be doing tasks mostly on the go or when at a desk? If at a desk go for a laptop, if on the go then get an iPad if you have a computer someone to use for synching and setup. If you have no computer at all, then go for a laptop.

Last suggestion, assuming money is tight, I would do the refurbished section of the Apple store website. You can save significantly there and is the best value for the money.

 

[RDRoe]

Both!

I carry both an 11" iPad Air and the 32gb iPad1 3g unlimited. I see no need for the iPad2 just yet as the 1 serves me quite well. Now why do I carry both? Because there are times for both. The iPad, in an email mode or reading mode is perfect. Sitting in a meeting and having the iPad sometimes works, but more than once, the MBA has saved me. So, as a rule, I take the MBA to meetings and use the iPad around the house, on the deck, etc. On a plane, the iPad wins for movies, etc, but the MBA rules for email and research.

I also carry a MBPro 15 for serious development using VMWare. I am a software developer and need to have that ability with me. Soooooo .... all 3 have their place and are great additions to my life.

Just my 2 bits worth.....

 

[maclaptop]

A Great Solution For Air Travel

Finally I found an aluminum case with a built in low profile keyboard for my iPad 2.

It's enabled me to carry my iPad 2 on the plane along with a keyboard no wider than the iPad itself. Depending on what I'm doing I carry it alone, or with either my 11" or 13" MBA. Here's a comparison of the dimensions with a Chromebook in the mix as well.


12.8 x 8.9 x 0.7" (2.9 lbs) 13.3" MBA

11.6 x 8.6 x 0.8" (3.1 lbs) 12.1" Chromebook

11.8 x 7.6 x 0.7" (2.3 lbs) 11.6" MBA

9.7 x 7.5 x 0.5" (2.0 lbs) 9.7" iPad2 + aluminum keyboard case



Zagg keyboard case: http://goo.gl/EooFr

 

[aramosc]

Good day!

I am a med-student owning a 4year old Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21M Laptop (15'', 2.00 GHz C2D, NVIDIA 8600M GT, 3 Kg of weight) and a 6-month old ZTE Blade Phone (600 MHz Qualcomm 7227 CPU, 3.5'' Android phone with CM7 2.3).

Now, I recently got into a contest to win an iPad 2. As the contest ended and I watched all the entries, I feel I have a good shot at winning it. I was thinking of keeping it to work, kind of like a portable laptop, whenever I went to uni (my 3Kg Sony Vaio surely is not a portable computer). Although I do think it can be considered a luxury, I suppose it could come in handy when it came to web browsing, e-mail checking and eBook reading. But then again, my phone already does that. Maybe not as well as I'd like to, but it does. (please do not consider gaming when advising me, as it is the lowers of my priorities).

On the other hand, my laptop IS in need of replacement, and I was considering the a 13'' MBA (the Ultimate 13'' version, as I want the power to produce music, as well as photoshop). Selling the iPad will not be enough, however, to make me money to buy a MBA. Indeed, in best of chances I'd still be 900€ short from the 1600€ that the ultimate MBA 13'' would cost.

As such, my question boils down to: what would you do if you were me? Sell it and use those extra 200~400€ to get a MBA faster? Or keep the iPad 2, considering that realistically speaking the MBA will only come in, at the very least, 1 years'-time?

your needs sound more on par with a macbook pro. the air is a great machine but its very underpowered and it is mostly ment as a secondary mobile computer.

 

[japasneezemonk]

Just get both. Ipad is only about 550 with tax, and a decent MBA is about 1,500.

 

[duggram]

You really should stop giving advice on things you have no experience on.

It appears that because you don't agree with my opinion I should not share it. Sounds like you have a major character flaw.

I think you are confused. ...I can set the iPad on a flat surface and read it at almost any angle.

Actually you sound confused. Why would anyone have to read such a docile appliance from any angle?

And yes, the iPad screen is significantly better than the MBA.

That's your opinion and you are entitled, even if you are just slightly bigoted about it.

 

[duggram]

I also carry a MBPro 15 for serious development using VMWare. I am a software developer and need to have that ability with me. Soooooo .... all 3 have their place and are great additions to my life.

Just my 2 bits worth.....

I have a 15" MBP also. But I leave mine at home. I put an SSD in it, which really makes a nice computer, except that it's just not as easy to flick around like the MBA.

Actually, as soon as the next version of the Air comes out the MBP goes to one of the grand kids and I'll have a new MBA. My old one will be a back up then.